IndyMac

Soros, Dell among the players in FDIC's damaged-goods sale

(Newser) -
A team of high-profile investors has bought the remains of failed bank IndyMac from the FDIC for $13.9 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. The investors, including George Soros and computer tycoon Michael Dell, have agreed to share the losses from IndyMac's portfolio of troubled mortgages in a deal...
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Systematic reworking faces typical hurdles

(Newser) -
The first large-scale experiment in how to keep struggling borrowers in their homes is being run by the FDIC at seized mortgage lender IndyMac, the Wall Street Journal reports, and the results are mixed. Of some 65,000 borrowers with “seriously delinquent” mortgages, about 47,000 qualify for aid...
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Execs' trustworthy appearance can mislead consumers

(Newser) -
Did so many people believe IndyMac CEO Michael Perry's assurances that his company was doing fine because of his baby face? A forthcoming study suggests that soft features like "large eyes, small nose, high forehead and small chin," engender more favorable bias in viewers, the Washington Post reports....
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Feds seized Ill.-based Superior in 2001, but it continued to write, sell off bad loans

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An Illinois bank seized by regulators in 2001 continued to write risky subprime mortgages for months after it was put under the day-to-day supervision of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many of the loans—some with interest rates above 12%—have been foreclosed; a Texas...
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But banking remains 'safe and sound'

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Henry Paulson sought to reassure Americans today that US banking is "sound" despite a growing list of troubled banks, Reuters reports. He also said the economy will stay slow for months, but expressed confidence that Congress will shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before summer recess. "Congress...
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Failed bank may have given improper loans to people with bad credit

(Newser) -
The FBI is investigating failed bank IndyMac for possible fraud related to its mortgage-lending business, Bloomberg reports. The agency is looking into whether the bank gave improper loans to people with shaky credit. It is working closely with the FDIC, which seized the bank's assets last week. IndyMac specialized in...
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Feds want to see it as a whole; see more small banks failing in future

(Newser) -
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is looking to sell recently capsized IndyMac as a whole to one healthy bank, an executive told Reuters today. The FDIC took over IndyMac on Friday after nervous customers withdrew more than $1.3B in 11 days. "I don't expect there will be large...
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Depositors with more than $100K in the bank could be in trouble

(Newser) -
IndyMac Bank's failure yesterday was a "wake-up call" to anyone with deposits above the $100,000 FDIC insurance limit, Terry Savage writes in Street.com. Americans have more than $2.6 trillion in uninsured accounts, and 10,000 depositors have more than $1 billion at risk at IndyMac alone....
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Lenders 'raising rates like crazy'

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Lenders are cutting credit, tightening standards or raising interest rates to a broader range of borrowers beyond those with weak credit records who qualify for subprime loans, the Wall Street Journal reports. Panic is spreading to a category of mortgages between subprime and prime that often involves borrowers who don't...
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